Building Reader Communities – Today on #FollowReader

I’ve been noticing that “reader communities” keeps getting bigger on the tag cloud for this blog. We’re talking about them all the time – along with a handful of other book blogs – and yet, I wonder if everyone could agree on what reader communities are, and how they work.

Moderating a panel on how publishers are builiding reader communities at the Digital Book World conference last month convinced me that there’s plenty to discuss. So today’s followreader chat (from 4-5pm ET) seemed like a good place to continue the conversation.

My guest today is Jesse McDougall, an independent consultant at Catalyst Web Works, who has done significant community-building work for Chelsea Green, an independent publisher specializing in green living and philosophy books.

So join us today to explore some basic questions:

How are digital tools changing the ways that readers find each other and interact?

What does a reader get out of joining a community that they can’t have on their own?

How are publishers and authors building relationships directly with readers?

What results is it reasonable to expect from community-building efforts?

What are the top technologies for tracking engagement with online audiences?

And watch this space ext week for a more detailed interview with Jesse!

To join the #followreader conversation, here’s what to do:

On Friday, February 12, just before 4pm ET, log in to Twitter or whatever interface you prefer. (We recommend Tweetchat, which refreshes quickly and automatically loads your hashtag when you are in the discussion.)

To follow the discussion, run a search for #followreader

I’ll start by asking Jesse McDougall (@jsmcdougall) a few questions, before opening up the discussion to the group.

To post a comment to the discussion, make sure that the hashtag #followreader is in each tweet you write.

If you can’t join the discussion, watch this space next week for a recap of the highlights.

Have a topic you wish we would cover? Please feel free to suggest topics for upcoming #followreader chats below.

About

Follow the Reader is the blog of NetGalley (www.netgalley.com), a place where professional readers — reviewers, media, bloggers, journalists, librarians, booksellers and educators — can read and request digital galleys they want to review.